A new report from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) has revealed that media freedom and pluralism are under sustained attack across the European Union, with journalists facing increasing harassment, threats, and violence, while media ownership is concentrated in fewer hands and public trust has plummeted.
Rising Threats to Journalists
The fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, paints a grim picture of journalist safety, describing it as reaching a crisis point in 2025. Reporters and media workers are facing extreme physical violence and systemic legal harassment, including bomb attacks targeting investigative journalists.
In Athens, a device containing five kilograms of TNT was thrown at the home of Yannis Pretenteris, editor of the weekly newspaper To Vima. In Italy, a device exploded under the car of Sigfrido Ranucci, a leading investigative journalist. Overall, 118 attacks against journalists were recorded in Italy last year, 15 involving physical violence. Twenty Italian journalists, mainly those investigating organized crime, live under police protection, the highest number in Europe.
The Netherlands saw a third consecutive year of increased attacks, with 106 threats, 67 incidents of intimidation, and 55 cases of physical violence. Online harassment also surged, with a record 377 serious online attacks, including death threats, targeting journalists in 2025. In Malta, Hungary, and Romania, politicians launched smear campaigns labeling news outlets as forces of darkness or foreign propaganda machines.
State Surveillance and SLAPPs
State surveillance of journalists was an issue in several countries, including Italy and Romania. Abusive lawsuits, particularly strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), remain a growing threat despite an EU anti-SLAPP directive that has yet to be effectively implemented in many member states.
Media Ownership Concentration
Liberties expressed alarm at the continuing concentration of media ownership across the EU. Hungary is highlighted as a key example, where a foundation backing former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán controls a majority of media outlets. In France, a few billionaires, including conservative Vincent Bolloré, own much of the country's media.
Concentration is also a growing concern in the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Spain, and particularly Slovakia, where the Penta group's acquisition of Nový Čas means it now controls both of the country's biggest tabloids.
Public Media Under Siege
Public TV and radio suffered severe systemic political interference, budget cuts, and structural changes that jeopardized their core mission across the bloc in 2025. Full state capture was evident in some EU member countries. Pro-government airtime reached a record 73% in Hungary last year before elections, which Orbán lost to challenger Péter Magyar. In Slovakia, Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) was subject to direct political control.
Financial instability is an increasing threat, with proposals in France to merge all public outlets, Germany closing 16 radio stations and two TV news channels, and Belgium's public broadcaster facing major budget cuts.
Declining Public Trust
The report highlights declining public trust in Europe's media. Only three of 22 EU countries surveyed, including Germany and Ireland, reported relatively high trust levels, while some, notably Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria, had critically low trust.
Implementation Gaps
Many EU member states are failing to adequately implement relevant EU legislation, including the anti-SLAPP directive and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). EMFA aims to address major threats such as journalist protection, media ownership transparency, and the threatened independence of public service media and regulatory bodies, but it is being translated into national law far too slowly.
Eva Simon, Liberties senior advocacy officer, said: EMFA really needs to be transposed, and more importantly enforced, as quickly and as strongly as possible across all member states.
